Skip to main content

Ownership


I was at the gym this morning (I know, I was surprised too) and as I was leaving the locker room, I noticed two large clumps of paper towels on the floor near the entrance, several feet from the nearest trash can. Although I didn’t see who had left them there, I was disappointed by both his paper-towel-hooping skills along with his general lack of concern in leaving a mess. But it is what happened next that really struck me.

As I was putting on my headphones and wondering how someone could miss a large trashcan by four feet, I saw an employee of the gym walk into the locker room. He looked down at the balled-up paper towels and deliberately stepped over them. Here’s what’s even worse, he is one of the managers of the club. Now, I realize picking up trash probably isn’t in his specific job description nor is it likely a “key result area” of his performance reviews. However, as a manager and leader within the organization, it certainly falls under his greater purpose of providing a clean, safe and welcoming environment for members to work out and improve their health.

What I witnessed was an unfortunate lack of ownership. This manager didn’t create the issue, wasn’t specifically tasked with coming up with a solution (like bending over as he walked by, picking up the two clumps and tossing them in the nearby trashcan – I am sure he would need to bring that before some committee to plan all that out), so he decided it wasn’t his problem. With managers like that, it’s no wonder this gym has ridiculously high turnover and is staffed with entire teams of employees who refuse to take ownership or responsibility for any issue that doesn’t directly fall under their assigned scope.

I believe we all have the responsibility to create a better environment for those around us as well as an opportunity to enhance the experience of life for those with whom we come in contact. But it often means stepping out of your immediate circle of duty to do the good you are able, but not specifically asked or required to do. Sometimes that means picking up the “trash” someone else leaves behind, so others coming after you don’t have to deal with it. This is taking ownership in the blessing of life.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on
Post a Comment
Read more

Glutton for Punishment

I’ve learned over the years that being comfortable can be a dangerous thing. I try to find paths to discomfort to push me out of my realm of “safety.” However, I have noticed my ability to develop comfort zones amidst discomfort. I’ve found ways to be comfortable in uncomfortable circumstances. I wonder, do I need to be stretched beyond those areas as well? One of the areas in which I have adapted to the discomfort is the gym. I don’t go to the gym to exercise, to get stronger or even to be healthier. It’s grown beyond that. Now, I go to the gym to clear my head by testing my will and resolve. I do it to see how hard I can push my limits and I strive to outwork everyone else there. I may not be the strongest, the fastest or the fittest. I may not lift the most weight or even do the most reps – I can’t control any of those variables – but I can control my effort. So one of my goals for each workout is to unleash more effort than anyone else at the gym. But along with this
Post a Comment
Read more

Commitment

  You know what the problem is with a lot of goals and grand plans? They are mostly fueled by emotion rather than commitment. It is why most New Year’s Resolutions are long forgotten by now and many aspirations quietly fizzle out over time. True commitment is sticking with the effort even – if and especially when – the emotion has diminished or disappeared. Emotion can be a great initiator of action, like kindling on a fire, but it lacks staying power. Commitment is the logs that keep the fire burning long after the kindling is consumed. The butterflies after falling in love, the best intentions of waking up at 4:30am every day to work out after you join a new gym, the excitement of your first day on campus, even the sleep-deprivation induced euphoria of a new baby: all kindling. But it is commitment that keeps you working hard on the marriage twenty-three years after “I do.” It is what causes you to keep going when you do not want to make one more sales call, do one more presentat
Post a Comment
Read more